This 64-page booklet is a tool designed to help individuals and small groups study The Social Principles of The United Methodist Church. It contains the official text of The Social Principles from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2016 along with exercises for individuals or small groups, a topical index, and Social Creed. The Social Principles of The United Methodist Church are the product of over one hundred years of legislative decisions made by lay and clergy members of The United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations. The Social Principles are prayerful and thoughtful efforts on the part of many General Conferences to speak to complex and controversial issues in the global community. Studying The Social Principles provides opportunities to examine your own theology and ethics and to practice discipleship.

Justice in Everyday Life, a Lay Servant Ministries advanced course, takes an in-depth look at the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church — the church's attempt to speak on contemporary issues with which it is confronted today. The book covers topics such as the following: Natural World, Social Community, Economic Community, Political Community, Biblical Foundations of the Social Principles, and Teaching the Social Principles. It is not only for Lay Servants but is for anyone interested in studying the Social Principles in greater detail. The Participant's Book, Social Principles of the UMC 2013-2016 is available through Cokesbury.

This 64-page booklet is a tool designed to help individuals and small groups study the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church. It contains the official text of the Social Principles from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church 2012 along with exercises for individuals or small groups, a topical index, and Our Social Creed. The Social Principles of The United Methodist Church are the product of ninety-eight years of legislative decisions made by lay and clergy members of The United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations. The Social Principles are prayerful and thoughtful efforts on the part of many General Conferences to speak to complex and controversial issues in the global community. Studying the Social Principles provides opportunities to examine your own theology and ethics and to practice discipleship.

Methodist Morals offers keen insight into the public church, interpreting the United Methodist Social Principles as a dynamic discourse about morality and human rights in light of faith. Revised every four years by the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Social Principles exposes the moral deliberations of this distinctly American and increasingly ?worldwide? church as it struggles to achieve community across multiple languages and cultures. Perhaps no other document provides as rich a depiction of Protestants participating in the moral argument of public life. This is the first full-length study of Methodist social teachings in over fifty years. Examining official Methodist teachings from institutional, historical, and cross-cultural perspectives, Darryl Stephens provides a rich analysis of this case study of Protestant social witness, drawing on his expertise in church polity, Methodist history, and Christian social ethics. A wide range of comparisons— with documents of the United Nations, with moral debate in Germany and Zimbabwe, and with historical Methodist statements of social witness—shows the Social Principles to be a unique form of social witness. The issues of war,abortion, human sexuality, and marriage illustrate the messiness of democratic deliberation in an ecclesial context and the evolution of a people ever concerned with the sin of ?worldliness? even as they become more attuned to transforming social structures. Stephens also contrasts this conception of the public church with the ecclesiologies of prominent Methodist ethicists Stanley Hauerwas and Paul Ramsey. Intended for students of Methodism, ecumenical church leaders, and scholars of Christian social ethics and contemporary US mainline religion, this work reveals the challenges to and possibilities for achieving moral community in an increasingly global and diverse world--from publisher's website.

"The purpose of this Little Book is to identify some characteristic features of the Bible's teaching on justice. "The Bible has had a profound impact on the development of Western culture. So exploring biblical perspectives on justice can help us appreciate some of the convictions and values that have helped shape Western political and judicial thought. "Christians also regard the Bible as a uniquely important source of guidance on matters of belief and practice. What the Bible has to say about justice, therefore -- both social justice and criminal justice -- ought to be of great significance for Christian thought and action today. "Yet coming to grips with biblical teaching on justice is by no means easy." Upfront, Marshall addresses the many complexities that surround "justice" in the Bible: the Bible seems to hold conflicting points of view; there is a huge amount of data to deal with; the world of the Bible and our present world are vastly different. Marshall's honest treatment of this subject is direct, yet almost lyrical in tone. He manages a thorny, multi-faceted subject clearly and ultimately singles out the broad areas of theological agreement among the Bible's writers. Highly stimulating. Highly inspirational.

The new version of Job Descriptions differs from previous editions, including format and design changes. Each job description includes this information: Result Expected Spiritual Gifts and Qualifications Helpful for This Position Responsibilities Support to Expect from the Congregation Getting Started People and Agencies That Can Help Resources for Help In addition to individual positions within congregational life, the book explores biblical roots and dimensions of leader development. It includes new thinking based on field research and training leaders in a variety of settings. Purchasers receive permission to reproduce individual job description pages for use in church workshops

The practical and theological development of eighteenth-century Methodism.